Torquay United AFC is delighted to announce that goalkeeper Shaun MacDonald has returned to the Club ahead of this afternoon’s clash with Southend United at Plainmoor.
Already a hugely popular figure with the Yellow Army, MacDonald arrives back at Plainmoor following a brief period away from the Club, however return couldn’t be better timed, as manager Gary Johnson explains:
“With Mark Halstead recovering from concussion, we needed to bring in another goalkeeper. Obviously it’s a short time from Tuesday to now, and we didn’t get Mark’s diagnosis until a day after, so we needed a goalkeeper P.D.Q. – pretty damn quick!
“Shaun, his girlfriend, and her family still live in Torquay. We met him at Notts County, and he said he’d be happy to come back if there was ever an opportunity, and here it was.
“We looked at other possibilities, but we didn’t want another young ‘un, and at this early stage of the season, we thought it was also important to bring someone in that knows us, and knows our own way of communicating.
“We’re glad Shaun joins us, and we wish him well.”
The player himself is clearly excited at the prospect of making a second debut for the Club, over three years after he commenced his first spell at Torquay with a 0-0 draw at Chelmsford on the opening day of 2018/19.
“It’s nice to be back,” began MacDonald.
“I think the scenario has changed, in terms of what I’ve been guaranteed, and also obviously the situation the Club’s in at the minute. It’s only early days in the season, but to go from what we had last year to this year, I think the first thing is to forget about the situation we’re in, and to get as high up the table as we possibly can for the time I’m here, whether that’s a month or whatever happens.
“We’ll see what happens, but I think the aim is to get us out of the situation we’re in, get us higher up the table. It’s only early days, so hopefully we’ll be talking about a play-off push, or something better, if we turn it round and get some good results coming.
“I already know the manager’s game – what he wants from us – so I think that helps, or I’d like to hope it would! I think results will show whether that’s the case or not, but with us knowing each other, I think that can only be a good thing.”